Volleyballers begin playoffs, softball team qualifies

(Above) Liz Breen and Wachusett's hard-working boys' volleyball team, which competes as the second seed in the 2006 MIAA Boys Division 1 Central Volleyball Tournament this week against Xaverian, ended its regular season last week with a win and a loss, giving it the school's best record ever at 164.

The Mountaineers rebounded from a rare loss with a convincing 3-0 victory over league rival Fitchburg. Tim Scannell, Matt Snyder, and Travis Bridges combined for 24 kills (nine, eight and seven, respectively). Bridges added three blocks and Snyder four aces.

Marlboro slipped past Wachusett, 3-2, in the prior match (22-25, 25-17, 25-23, 22-25, and 9-15). Snyder and Scannell had career matches, combining for 35 kills (18 and 17, respectively). Bridges was also a force at the net, blocking four balls and constantly harassing the Panthers' attack.

Snyder leads the team with 190 kills, a school record. Scannell is second with 158 kills, a personal best. Bridges' 85 kills, third on the team, is also a personal best. Snyder is the team leader with 57 aces, also a school record. He is followed by Jeff Young with 24 and Jamie Audet with 19. Bridges paces the team in blocks with 25. Snyder is second with 16, and Audet third with 15.

(right) Stephanie Tee get in their hits during recent Wachusett tennis action. Steve King photos Baseball

Wachusett played five games last week and won three as it preps for the start of the Central Mass. Division 1 Tournament this week. The Mountaineers defeated Fitchburg, Shrewsbury and St. Peter-Marian, and lost to St. John's and Holy Name. Wachusett ends the regular season with a 13-7 record. The Mountaineers finished second in the Mid-Wach A League, which was topped by Algonquin Regional.

Wachusett used four pitchers against the Guardians in pulling out a 4-2 non-league win. Starting pitcher Joe Latino had a solid outing and helped his cause with a double and a steal of home. Junior co-captain Derek Ingui, who reached base four times, rapped a first-inning homer to lead a balanced offense. Jamie Skagerlind had two hits and an RBI. Keith Bates' RBI single keyed a two-run fifth inning.

Holy Name pinned a 3-2 loss on Wachusett last Friday. The contest took more than four hours to play and had two rain delays. The Naps won the game on an inside-the-park homer that raised a few eyebrows among the Mountaineer faithful. The winning hit was caught by Wachusett centerfielder Bryan Riley, but the ball was jarred loose when the diving Riley collided with the fence. Riley, a senior, was motionless for a few moments, but ended up staying in the game. led briefly, 1-0.

Wachusett's 10-10 softball team qualified for the Central Mass. Division 1 Tournament Saturday with a 6-0 nonleague victory over visiting Doherty in its last regular-season game. The Mountaineers scored twice in the first inning and retained control the rest of the way. Senior Erin Christensen pitched the shutout, allowing six hits. Junior infielder Liz Miskinis had three hits, while junior Kim Depasse scored two runs as a pinch runner.

Wachusett avenged an early-season non-league loss to Burncoat last week, blasting the Patriots, 15-4, at Davis Hill. The Mountaineers put the game away with a 10-run outburst in the second inning. Christensen, who did not play in the first meeting of the two clubs, had the win. She helped her cause with three hits, including two triples. Senior shortstop Jackie Long contributed a booming

home run, while Miskinis

rapped out a pair of triples.

Mid-Wach pacesetter Shrewsbury nipped visiting Wachusett in 11 innings at mid-week, 2-1. Pitcher Michaela Mahoney tossed a three-hitter and fanned 20 for the victors, who scored in the last of the eleventh. Christensen had two hits for the Mountaineers, who had gone ahead, 1-0, with a run in the tenth. She struck out six.

Girls' Track

Wachusett finished sixth in Saturday's Central Mass. All Class Track Meet at Fitchburg State College. Saddled by injuries, the Mountaineers scored 35 points. Bromfield won the meet with 76 points.

The Mountaineers were led by senior Lisa Wilson, who won the shot put with a throw of 39-03 and broke her own school record for the third time, and discus (130-01, a foot off the meet record). She won the Ev Ingalls Award as the meet's outstanding athlete. Wilson is undefeated in both the shot and discus this year, and will be a favorite in both events in next Saturday's state meet.

Freshman Molly Pistrang was Wachusett's other individual state qualifier, finishing fourth in the mile in 5:29.56, a personal best.

Other Wachusett scorers were Katherine Banks in the mile (6th, 5:36.32), Maryann Platt in the 300-hurdles (5th, 50.21), the 4-by-800 relay team of Platt, Emily Scannell, Pistrang and Jess Carpenter (4th, 10:06.84), and the 4-by4-relay team of Banks, Kayle McElroy, Laura Socha and Casey Robertson (4th, 4:16.92). Both relay teams qualified for the state meet with season-best times.

Finishing the season on a high note were sophomore Kelly Samoiloff in the high jump (cleared 5" for the first time, finishing 7th), freshman Tatiana Seles in the 300hurdles (51.4, 10th, personal best), and Carpenter who ran a season-best in the 800 (2:25.87), won her heat and finished seventh. She anchored the 4-x-800 relay team and had a 2:26.9 leg.

Qualifying and competing well in the District Meet were Kristen Peterson in the high jump (cleared 4' 10"), Scannell in the 400 (63.54), Robertson in the 400 (62.99), Melissa Gross in the two-mile (12:56.75), Socha in the long jump (14' 5.75"), Platt in the triple jump (29' 10"), Susan Konola in the javelin (88' 6"), McElroy in the javelin (87' 10") and 200 (28.26), Meredith Westbrook in the javelin (82' 2"), and the 4-by-100 relay team of Sarah Lombardi, Lauren Brill, McKenzie Hennessy and Socha (55.23).

Boys' Track

Wachusett finished in a tie for 23rd place in Saturday's Central Mass. All Class Track Meet at Fitchburg State College. St. John's won the meet with 80 points. The Mountaineers and Oxford totaled six points apiece. Wachusett scored all its points in the 4-x-800 meter relay, where it finished third with a time of 8:28.75, qualifying it for the state meet. The relay team members were Scott Luro, Alex Leith, Bryan Vangel and Justin Hunt.

Other Wachusett participants who performed well were Matt Wood in the two mile (10th, 10:28.9), Pat Sullivan in the pole vault (7th, 12-0), Andrew Janik in the pole vault (14th, 10-0), Jamir Alexander in the long jump (7th, 20-1), Tyler Russell in the shot put (7th, 43' 1.5"), Patrick Massey in the 110-hurdles (9th, 17.18), Tom Dowd in the 100-meter (12th, 11.84), Devin Schlichting in the 400 (18th, 54.73), the 4-by-400 relay team of Oscar Esposito, Dan Baker, Leith and Jamir Alexander (14th, 3:41.3), and the 4-by-100 relay team of Massey, Dowd, Matt Whitman and Alexander (12th, 46.61).

Girls' Tennis

Wachusett was well-represented in the Central Mass. Individual Tournament's third round last Saturday. The Mountaineers got an outstanding effort from singles standout Liz Breen, who was edged by Westboro's Alexa Ebert, 6-4, 6-2. Wachusett's doubles team of Caitlin Harvey and Stephanie Knepper lost to top-seeded Alexa Trapasso and Emily Marr of Notre Dame Academy in a fourth-round match, 6-0, 6-2. Harvey-Knepper defeated Kamryn St. Germaine and Kayla Boyer of St. Peter-Marian in a thirdround match, 0-6, 7-6, 6-3.

Wachusett began the week with a pair of 5-0 road victories over 1-10 North Middlesex Regional.

Boys' Tennis

Though it had no winners, Wachusett's boys' tennis team had several standouts in last Saturday's Central Mass. Individual Tournament. The Mountaineers' John Carlson advanced to the third round, where he was beaten by Andrew Tracey of Bromfield, 6-4, 6-3. Wachusett's doubles team of Dan Cournoyer and Greg Salber lost to Charley Teng and Murli Gupta of Algonquin Regional in a third-round match, 1-6, 7-6 (8-6).

Algonquin Regional toppled visiting Wachusett at the start of the week, 4-1. The Mountaineers' lone point came at No. 1 singles, where DeSantis defeated Richard Wu, 7-6, 7-4.

Boys' Lacrosse

Despite a hectic schedule that took a physical toll, Wachusett's playoff-bound boys' lacrosse team earned three victories last week to bring its record to 13-6, the best in school history. The Mountaineers knocked off GrotonDunstable last Saturday, 12-9, at Davis Hill. Goal scorers were Kevin Frechette (4), Dillon Wilde (3), Ryan Johnson (2), Craig Silver, Christian Roy and J.D. Georger. The Mountaineers lost to North Middlesex earlier in the week, 9-6, at Davis Hill. Wachusett scorers were Frechette (3), Johnson (2) and Dan Hyney. The Mountaineers began the week with an 11-9 home win over Shrewsbury. Goal scorers were Johnson (4), Wilde (2), Georger, Frechette, Roy, Justin Stevens and Jay Leone.

The team has racked up 139 goals in 18 games and has demonstrated it can score on anyone. The defense long poles have continued to play tough, hard-hitting lacrosse in close, while their midfield defensive specialists, seniors Nick Mordarski, Brendan Doherty, Ian Marshall and Jay Leone, along with juniors Josh Wilner and Burt Grinstead have continually kept the opposing teams top scores in check. Junior goalie Mike Murdock has allowed the team to maintain one of Central Massachusetts' leading goal percentages this year.

Girls' Golf

Wachusett defeated Worcester last week, 16-2, in a match played at Green Hill Golf course. The Mountaineers' Jacqueline Mooney was medalist, shooting a 14over par score of 50.